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Upcoming Events
The Wall Exchange
Tuesday, May 21, 2013Bugs 'R Us: The Role of Microbes in Disease, Health and Society
Dr. B. Brett Finlay, Peter Wall Distinguished Professor and Professor in the Departments of Microbiology and Immunology, and Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
Dr. Finlay, award-winning microbiologist, examines how bacteria live in the human body and help maintain good health. The microbiota (also known as the normal flora of the human body) is comprised of thousands of species of microbes. Only recently have we begun to appreciate the role of these organisms in health, impacting on diarrhea, obesity, various bowel diseases, type I diabetes, asthma, and even brain development. In developed countries, we have gone to great lengths to minimize our exposure to microbes, both pathogenic and harmless. The Hygiene Hypothesis suggests that perhaps we have gone too far, as hominids have evolved in a sea of microbes, and actually need exposure to microbes early in life to develop normally. This talk will explore new research on the role of the microbiota in health, mechanisms used by microbes to cause disease, and new approaches to counter infections, including potentially using the microbiota to prevent other diseases.
Location: The Vogue Theatre, 918 Granville Street, Vancouver
Time: 7:30 pm
Doors open at 6:30 pm. Come early to hear the Oscar Hicks jazz sextet!
Tickets are free but must be reserved and are in limited supply. Reserve your ticket online.
International Visiting Research Scholar public talk
Tuesday, May 21, 2013Delay: Friend or Enemy?
Lecture by Dr. Thomas Erneux, Fonds National de la Recherche Scientifique, Belgium
Delay problems appear in all scientific disciplines from biology to physics. As soon as there is a mechanical, physiological, or human control, there is a delay because time is needed to observe and react. If the delay is too important, oscillatory responses appear. But a properly used delayed feedback may also stabilize an unstable system. Our understanding of the positive and negative effects of a delay has progressed to the point that oscillatory outputs are used in applications. This presentation will review a series of problems and illustrate the different expectations of the researcher depending on his background.
Time: 3:00 pm
Location: Henry Angus Building, UBC, Room 241, 2053 Main Mall, Vancouver
Public Talk
Wednesday, May 29, 2013The Natures of War
Dr. Derek Gregory, award-winning political geographer and Distinguished Professor, Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies
Blending poetry and prose and paintings, Dr. Gregory presents ‘nature’ not simply as a terrain over which conflicts rage, but as a medium through which they are conducted. He uses four richly illustrated examples: the ‘slimescapes’ and mud of the Western Front in the First World War, the deserts of Northern Africa during the Second World War, the ‘jungle’ of Vietnam in the 1960s and 70s, and the continuing militarization of the Arctic. In each case, ‘nature’ is presented as a medium that transformed the very nature of the conflict, often treated in military culture as anadversary as dangerous as the human enemy. But not only do these examples have implications for ecological warfare, they also impact directly on the very survival of our planet.
A free event. Space is limited, please register: events.pwias.ubc.ca/special-events
Location: Vancouver Aquarium, Goldcorp Theatre, 845 Avison Way, Vancouver
Time: 6:15 pm to 7:30 pm
Doors open at 6:00 pm. A reception will follow the presentation from 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm.
Exploratory Workshop public event
Thursday, June 6, 2013The Puzzles of Human Cooperation
Dr. Robert Boyd, School of Human Evolution and Social Change, Arizona State University
Location: Liu Institute for Global Issues, UBC, 6476 NW Marine Drive, Vancouver
Time: 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm
A reception will precede the event at 5:00 pm.
Public Talk
Friday, June 7, 2013Hypothesis Testing in Neuromuscular Systems
Dr. Francisco J. Valero-Cuevas, Director, Brain-Body Dynamics Laboratory and Professor, Biomedical Engineering, Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, Computer Science, & Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering, University of Southern California
The use of sensitivity analysis (quantifying the effect of parameter variability on prediction variability) and cross-validation (testing how well a model replicates data not used during its development) are well-established techniques in machine learning and in engineering that are not yet the standard of practice in neuromuscular modeling. Dr.Valero-Cuevas will present some examples of these techniques in the areas of muscle modeling and muscle redundancy that challenge current notions and suggest productive research directions. He will also discuss the implications of this work to systems modeling, neural control, and understanding of neurological pathologies and rehabilitation strategies.
Location: Room X836 (Boardroom), Department of Computer Science, ICICS/CS Building, 2366 Main Mall
Time: 2:00 pm to 3:00 pm
Exploratory Workshop public event
Friday, June 7, 2013On the Nature of Human Cooperation: Observations and Experiments across Diverse Societies and Species
Dr. Joe Henrich, Departments of Psychology and Economics, University of British Columbia
Location: Liu Institute for Global Issues, 6476 NW Marine Drive
Time: 7:30 pm to 8:30 pm
Exploratory Workshop public event
Saturday, June 8, 2013Cooperation, Religion and Civil Society: How a Punjabi Community Transcended Violence
Dr. Karen Bhangoo Randhawa, Peace and Confl ict Studies, University of California, Berkeley
Location: Liu Institute for Global Issues, 6476 NW Marine Drive
Time: 1:30 pm to 2:30 pm
Wall Colloquia Abroad
Monday, June 10, 2013 - Tuesday, June 11, 2013Zoonosis and Emergence of New Infectious Diseases: Biology Meets Anthropology
This two day international colloquium will be held at the Collège de France, a partner of the Peter Wall Institute, and will focus on the interface between known emerging infectious diseases and anthropological studies. The main topics of discussion include defining potential animal reservoirs, how pathogens move between species and generally how a species barrier actually exists and is broken to yield new infectious diseases.
From Institute Director
External collaborations with individual researchers and with research institutions and centres continued to advance the reputation of the Peter Wall Institute for fundamental, interdisciplinary research, with more planned for the coming year.
For example, Professor Roald Hoffmann, who won the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 1981 and is also a poet and playwright, was Peter Wall's Distinguished Visiting Professor in 2008. He visited in March, for the celebration of the completely renovated Chemistry Building and the UBC launch of his new play, “Should’ve,” at UBC’s Frederic Wood Theatre.
Peter Wall Institute for Advanced Studies 6331 Crescent Road Tel: 604.822.4782 Fax: 604.822.4222